Robin Gibb's Irish wife feels "closer than ever" to the late star after visiting the island he was born

Dwina Gibb admits she is going to have a "hard" Christmas without the Bee Gees singer - who died in May aged 62 after losing his long battle with cancer - but in a "strange way" she felt like he was brought "back to life" when she recently visited Rebecca House, a children's hospice on the Isle of Man she supported with her husband.

She said: "Christmas without Robin will be hard for me. But coming to the Isle of Man and visiting the children at Rebecca House brings me solace. Robin felt so desperately sorry for all the children here. One of his last concerts was partly in aid of Rebecca House.

"Before Rebecca House, there was no hospice on the island for children. Parents had to take them to the mainland, which was costly and debilitating. He cared so much about children who were ill and suffering.

"Being at Rebecca House, on the island where Robin was born, has been so very special for me.

"It has made me feel even closer to Robin than ever and, in a strange way, has brought him back to life for me again."

Dwina - who marks her 60th birthday on the same day Robin would have turned 63 - has rarely left the 12th-century abbey in Oxfordshire, south east England, she shared with her husband and their son, Robin-John, 29.

And while she admits it was "incredibly painful" returning to Rebecca House - a hospice for kids as young as six months old who suffer from life-limiting conditions - she plans to go back again at a later date and carry on her and Robin's charity work.

She added to The Sun newspaper: "Going back to the house without Robin is incredibly painful.

"I am going to come back and do an art day with the children. The staff are wonderful and deserve all the support they can get.

"And I am glad I am carrying on the charity work that meant so much to Robin."